News just broke that to end the shutdown House Democratic leaders may proactively offer Donald Trump the $5.7 billion he requested for the wall in the form of surveillance technology and thousands more border agents.1Bankrolling Trump's racist immigration agencies and selling out immigrants to get out of this political stalemate is unacceptable. Any compromise that pays Trump's ransom to reopen the government would be an all-out surrender to racism and hate.

Democratic leaders could send their offer to Trump as soon as this week. We need to push back now.

CREDO activists and our allies have successfully made Trump's border wall toxic and hung the government shutdown on Trump and McConnell's necks. Recent polls confirm that a majority of voters blame the shutdown on Trump and the Republican Party.2 But even with political cover, it seems that House Democratic leaders are losing their nerve. Yesterday, House Majority Whip Rep. James Clyburn said:3

“If [Trump's] $5.7 billion is about border security, then we see ourselves fulfilling that request, only doing it through what I like to call using a ‘smart wall.’”

Why are Democratic leaders even contemplating fulfilling any request from a dangerous racist like Trump? They either don't understand or are willfully refusing to acknowledge that Trump's wall and entire anti-immigrant agenda are not just line items on a budget – they are a strategy to institutionalize hate. Democrats who refuse to put a stop to Trump's racism are not only enabling and validating it, they are participating in a racist politics that finds it far too easy to throw people of color under the bus.

Public outrage over the Trump-McConnell government shutdown – the longest in history – is growing. It's beyond disappointing if Democrats can't take the heat. A majority of the public doesn't even want a border wall,4 and Democratic voters made clear in November that they certainly don't want leaders who cave to Trump.

Voters just sent the youngest and most diverse and progressive group of members to the House of Representatives. The most effective candidates were the ones who had a bold progressive vision and confronted Trump's white supremacy head on. Recently, several progressive champions and rising Democratic stars announced their presidential bids for 2020 with a similar strategy, touting platforms that include Medicare for All and a welcoming immigration system.5

If Democrats who are up for re-election or planning to run for higher office in 2020 want to win, they must lead now and do everything they can to kill this proposal. Democrats who back it will sanction Trump's bully tactics, legitimize his racist immigration agenda and escalate attacks on our communities. Progressives will remember which Democrats fight back and hold accountable those who cave – in the streets, at their offices and in the voting booth.